Pyroluria and Paleo

Pyroluria-- Is it real? Is it permanent? Those that pay attention to it regard it as genetic, requiring permanent B6 supplementation. Nora Gedgaudas in "Primal Mind Primal Body" has a whole appendix on it and seems to share this view. Any experience reversing this dependency with Paleo diet/lifestyle? Or other perspectives, experiences out there?

Just to be clear- I'm talking pyroluria, the theoretical B6 pathway dysfunction.

hi Harry, just in case you are monitoring this. i recently posted a couple of questions to you on your web site, here, http://www.myhealthjourney.info/carnitine-deficiency/
Which i think may have got stuck in your spam filter...thx

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Answers

Oh its real alright. I have Pyroluria, it took me 8 years to work out what caused all my symptoms, these symptoms included:

Brain fog

Poor concentration and memory

Depression

Anxiety

Chronic fatigue (really adrenal fatigue)

Digestive issues

I've known for a year that I actually suffer from Pyroluria and it took a bit of working out but the Pyroluria supplements have turned me back into a normal person. I tried so many different treatments before I was diagnosed with Pyroluria.

It's not just zinc and vitamin B6 I take. I also take other supplements such as P5P, manganese, Evening Primrose oil, vitamin b3, biotin, vitamin E, vitamin C, magnesium, vitamin D to name a few.

I believe the condition is life long and cannot be 'cured'. But I would be very happy to be proven wrong on this belief. Seems genetic to me from what I have read and see in other family members.

I also think it is best to not go untreated as it leads to copper buildup in your body, from the low zinc levels.

hi Harry, just in case you are monitoring this. i recently posted a couple of questions to you on your web site, here, http://www.myhealthjourney.info/carnitine-deficiency/
Which i think may have got stuck in your spam filter...thx

I suspected I might have pyoluria and benefited a lot from B6 supplementation. I don't think zinc supplements on their own made anywhere near so much difference. Sometimes I find I need magnesium, sometimes I don't. At the moment I take a multimineral. I am sure eating paleo (and reducing stress) has helped but I'm going to try B6 again to see if I'm even better with both paleo and B6. If I am better with both, I will be a bit more persuaded that it is real.

I've actually found that most often when someone first changes to paleo, primal, or any other ancestral eating way of life where they are eating much less carbs than they were before, they often get into ketosis. Ketosis is where the body is producing ketones as the byproduct of lypolosis, or the burning of fat for energy. It happens faster with the higher fat ways of eating, slower with the lower fat ways, but eventually with reduced carbs from legumes, grains, and grain products...especially if even tubers and dairy are eliminated too. This is different from diabetic ketoacidosis which is the product of very high blood glucose levels...in fact it's quite the opposite, it's the product of a low-normal BGL with resulting fat burning.

What ketones aren't utilized for energy are eleminated from the body in the urine. Often, especially at first, this is manifested as polyuria. This is a good thing. Remember that every 1 gram of carbohydrate in the body holds 4 grams of water, since you have less glucose, glycogen and other carbohydrates available you get rid of the water and the excess ketones by urinating more.

It's not a bad thing at all. Just for a couple of weeks, you think you might actually pee out a kidney. Don't worry, your system is just reaching homeostasis (balance) and all is well.